Help with pattern reading

[Ruth66357]

Hi, 

Im really new to crochet and was wondering what something like this means as I can’t read it at the moment. 

sc 3, inc, *sc 6, inc* 2 times, sc 3 [24]

Thank you Ruth 😊

[Granny Square]

Hi Ruth, welcome to the 'ville!

"sc 3, inc, *sc 6, inc* 2 times, sc 3 [24]"

When a pattern says to make some number of stitches, and does not say where to put them, example your 'sc 3' means to make 1 sc into each of the next 3 stitches.

"Inc" normally means put 2 stitches into 1.  There are other increases that put more than 2 into 1, but the pattern should explain if that happens, and call it something else.

The stuff in asterisks is a repeat, some patterns are like yours with a * that marks the beginning and end, others will say *blah blah, repeat from * x times more.

The 24 in brackets at the end is the total stitch count you should have at the end of the row, it is a sanity check, not telling you to do something.  Sometimes these 'sanity' checks can vary, they might be in brackets or give you more detail [6 dc, 5 chain spaces] for example.  Not all patterns have this, but it can come in handy to make sure you are on the right track.

Hope that helps.  If your pattern has a stitch guide (describes how to make the stitches used), it's a good idea to read that before starting to make sure there isn't anything you don't understand before starting.  If your pattern is in a book or magazine, this might be on the back page or a special section.  

Edited July 15, 2021 by Granny Square
spelling

[0crochetaddict0]

It looks like you have 21 stitches. Single crochet into the first 3. In number 4 but 2 sc in the same stitch. In number 5 thru 10 sc. Number 11 put 2 sc in the one stitch. In 12 thru 17 one sc in each. 18 put two stitches. 19, 20, and 21 put one sc. 

So you've added an extra stitch 3 times #'s 4, 11, and 18. So instead of 21 stitches you now have 24.

[Susan Cohen]

Please kindly clarify what "miss two ch from hook" means.

[Granny Square]

I'm in the US, US patterns would typically say "skip" where the UK patterns that I've seen often say "miss" instead.  

So, not counting the loop on the hook (which doesn't count, just always there until you finish off), skip the first and second chains outward from the hook and do (whatever t says next) in the third chain.

Edited because I meant to add - are you in the US or the UK?  Did you know that the names of the stitches are different, or actually they use the same names but the names mean different things?  A reference link that also gives the stitch symbols which is handy.

https://itsallinanutshell.com/2016/02/12/how-to-crochet-difference-between-us-and-uk-crochet-terms-abbreviations/

Edited August 1, 2021 by Granny Square